NORTH ADAMS, MASS.- Architect Richard Gluckman, FAIA, Thomas Krens (former director of the Guggenheim Museum in New York), former Massachusetts governors Michael Dukakis and William Weld, and mayor of North Adams Richard Alcombright have unveiled an ambitious development plan that will confirm North Adams, already home to MASS MoCA, as a cultural destination.

Gluckman Tang Architects is designing two museums for the town:

• The Global Contemporary Art Museum (GCAM). A 160,000-sq.-ft. building on the grounds of Harriman-West Airport that will be funded by a group of international art collectors who will use the museum to exhibit pieces from their private collections.

• The Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum. A 700-ft.-long addition to two historic freight depots in Western Gateway Heritage State Park, the 32,400-sq.-ft. museum will house one of the world’s largest collections of working O-scale model trains, moving through a trainscape designed by world-class architects. Frank Gehry, Gluckman Tang, and Zaha Hadid are among the architects who will create architectural models for the diorama.

“We’re honored to contribute to the outstanding architecture of the North Adams – Williamstown cultural corridor. This will be our first extreme railroad museum, and we look forward to creating a space that will bring together train buffs and architecture enthusiasts alike,” said Richard Gluckman.

Thomas Krens noted, “I have long said that an art museum is an 18th century idea in a 19th century box that more or less fulfilled its structural destiny sometime toward the end of the 20th century. Most established museums in large cities, and many private collectors, simply do not have the space to exhibit the explosion of artistic creativity that has been produced in recent times. The GCAM is designed to address that issue with what I feel is a model alternative of what a museum can be.”

The Extreme Model Railroad and Contemporary Architecture Museum will illuminate one of the most important aspects of American transportation history. It will also demonstrate the exhilarating potential of contemporary architecture.

“I have worked with Richard Gluckman for 20 years. He designed and built Guggenheim Museum projects for me in Berlin and Abu Dhabi. We have recently collaborated on the new media museum for the Hunan Broadcasting System in Changsha, China,” said Krens. “Richard’s artistry has given an understated vibrancy to these projects.”

“North Adams played a prominent role in our national railroad history,” said Governor Dukakis. “Building a model train and contemporary architecture museum, of this quality and detail, in North Adams, will celebrate this history and build upon the investments in culture and education we made here in the 1980s.”

Governor Weld said, “Both Michael and I have worked with Tom Krens on MASS MoCA. In retrospect, the size of the mountain we had to climb some 25 years ago was higher. The people, the expertise and the ideas for this next major step are already in place.”

The projected completion date of both museums is 2018.